Central Park Tragedy: Teen Tourist Killed When Horse Carriage Overturns

An 18-year-old Indian tourist who was visiting New York with his family was killed after a horse carriage overturned in Central Park on June 17 shortly after 2:45 p.m., after the horse bolted from its driver.

The Central Park Conservancy identified the teen as Romanch Mahajan who was visiting from India with his family.

Police said the teen was rushed to New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Central but was pronounced deceased later that evening. The other three passengers, including his mother, his father and a sibling, were unharmed and declined medical attention at the scene.

The accident happened around West 71st Street and Center Drive when the driver, Ertan Gokdepe, disembarked to take a photo of the passengers and left the horse momentarily unattended. The horse bolted. Video of the scene showed the carriage teetering on two wheels with the frantic driver trying to catch up to the runaway horse. The carriage eventually appeared to hit the wheel of another carriage, forcing it to overturn.

The tragic incident is once again firing up the debate on the future of carriage horses in Central Park as animal rights activist and the Central Park Conservancy are supporting a city council bill known as Ryder's Law, named for a carriage horse that died in August, 2022. If enacted, it would ban carriage horses.

Lower East Side Council Member Chris Marte had recently introduced a new bill to pass Ryder’s Law this year after it stalled in committee last year.

“I am heartbroken by reports that an 18-year-old has died after being thrown from a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park,” said Marte “My deepest condolences are with the victim’s family, loved ones, and everyone grieving this unimaginable loss.

“This was a preventable death,” Marte said. “For years, New Yorkers have warned that horse-drawn carriages are unsafe for passengers, workers, pedestrians, parkgoers, and the horses themselves...We cannot allow this to be treated as another isolated incident. The Council must act with the urgency this tragedy demands and pass Ryder’s Law to end horse-drawn carriages in New York City.”

The Transport Workers Union, which represents carriage horse drivers, was critical of the driver in a statement released before the teen was pronounced dead. “This is unacceptable,” said Alexander Kemp, administrative vice president of TWU Local 100. “A driver is not supposed to leave the carriage to take photos–ever.

After the teen died on June 18, the TWU released a further statement.

“We are devastated that a passenger died after injuries suffered today in the accident in Central Park, and our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family,” TWU VP Kemp said. “Safety in the park has been a growing concern among many, and improvements are needed to be made with respect to all vehicles, including e-bicycles, delivery vehicles, pedicabs, and horse-drawn carriages.

He added, “It’s our understanding that the carriage owner has suspended the driver indefinitely and the horse will be retired from the business.”

The seven-year-old horse named Sampson has been retired from service.

But the second tragedy within ten days is reigniting the debate between the TWU which represents the drivers and animal rights activists and legislators who are trying to ban the horses. A carriage horse named Deniz died suddenly on June 9 while pulling tourists through Central Park.

The TWU has been pushing back against claims that the horse was a victim of abuse. The union said results of a necropsy this week showed that Deniz died from consuming poisonous Japanese Yew plants in the park.

“Deniz’s tragic death was not caused by neglect or abuse or the fact he was a carriage horse–as some animal rights activists and elected officials claimed,” TWU VP Kemp said in a statement.

“Poor Deniz died because the people running the Park Conservancy never warned anyone that there were deadly yew plants in the park. This is negligence at the highest level of the Conservancy,” Kemp added.

But the Central Park Conservancy, which last year began supporting a ban on horse drawn carriages for the first time, redoubled its efforts to push for a ban.

“We are absolutely devastated to learn that Romanch Mahajan, the 18-year-old visitor injured in today’s carriage incident, has died. On behalf of everyone at the Central Park Conservancy, our deepest condolences go out to his family and loved ones during this unimaginable time.

The Conservancy continued: “This is the tragedy we feared when we first called last year for horse carriages to be banned from Central Park due to the risks they pose to public safety and public health. A young man came to enjoy our park and lost his life. That is not an acceptable cost of an antiquated industry operating in the middle of one of the most heavily used public spaces in America...We renew our call for New York City to pass Ryder’s Law, which would ban horse carriages and provide transitional job placement services for drivers.”

Past efforts to pass Ryder’s Law never made it out of committee when Adrianne Adams was speaker of the City Council. But Julie Menin, the current speaker said she intends to hold hearings on the bill in July.

Meanwhile the TWU local suspended horse carriage rides through the weekend and said it will hold refresher courses to review safety procedures during the stand down and will hold refresher safety courses for all drivers in Central Park on June 22. Among the rules it is emphasizing: drivers must be in the cab holding the reins whenever passengers are in the carriage.

Regular carriage horse rides were scheduled to resume on June 23.